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The week on disc (58)
In case you missed the last one… Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls, Seize the Time (Naim) Bobby Previte, Pan Atlantic (Auand) Laura Andel Orchestra, Doble Mano (Rossbin) Alarm Will Sound, A/rhythmia (Nonesuch) Arturo Stable Quintet, Call (Origen) Wadada Leo Smith, Spiritual Dimensions (Cuneiform)
Most overrated music-maker of the ’00s
This one’s easy. Kanye West. Other suggestions welcome.
Political odds, ends
I didn’t vote for him on November 3, but Mike Bloomberg has done the country a service and I wanted to acknowledge it. In stark contrast to his predecessor, the insufferable demagogue Rudy Giuliani, Bloomberg has voiced support for Eric Holder’s decision to try KSM and other 9/11 defendants in a civilian court here in New York. One now sees
Obama hails Yoani
Via NYT’s The Lede, President Obama has directly addressed questions posed by courageous Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, who was recently harassed and roughed up by Cuban security officials for the great crime of blogging. The NYT post also remarks on a new Human Rights Watch report titled “New Castro, Same Cuba,” the thrust of which I don’t need to spell
On Hamiet Bluiett & Kahil El’Zabar
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: Hamiet Bluiett & Kahil El’ZabarFri., Nov. 20, 8pm. $12. Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St. 215.545.4302 www.arsnovaworkshop.org When he gets going, baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett could probably take down a house with his gutsy, barrel-chested sound. A cofounder of the World Saxophone Quartet and the St. Louis-based Black Artists Guild, he’s played a major
Seriously?
Wow, talk about coasting. In his NYT online column, Stanley Fish has tackled weighty topics like censorship and Islam (and often gotten it miserably wrong). Now he’s cranking out stuff that’d be perfect for an Andy Rooney segment. Or a few extra verses of Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic.”
Philadelphia haps, cont’d.
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: Jim SnideroFri., Nov. 13, 8 & 10pm. $15. Chris’ Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St. 215.568.3131 www.chrisjazzcafe.com Alto saxophonist Jim Snidero is part of an elite straightahead jazz contingent in New York — stone beboppers and consummate pros who have never bowed to prevailing fashion and never will. A lithe and forceful soloist and a prized
Quote of the day
From Jeffrey Goldberg: “If only Nidal Hasan, the alleged Ft. Hood killer, had been gay, the Army would have spent quite a bit of time hunting him down.”